Sara Mingus, owner and director of North Shore Yoga, dances the tango with Casey Haywood, a professional dancer from Fred Astaire Dance Studio, during the Dancing with Stars Chattanooga event at the Tivoli Theatre on Saturday. Mingus danced to raise money for Deaf Services.There was no shortage of glitz, glamour or giving at the fourth annual Dancing with the Stars Chattanooga on Saturday.
Although exact amounts still were being tallied Saturday night, organizers were enthusiastic about the dollars raised for the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults. The event was sponsored by the Chattanooga Times Free Press and First Tennessee Bank.
"The fundraising has been phenomenal," said event co-chairwoman and 2010 competition champion Alexis Bogo. "It's over the top from last year, even."
The dancing champion was being determined at press time, but all eight competitors had trained for 15 weeks to master their moves.
"It's been amazing," said local star Jimmy Adams, who danced a cha-cha. "I've made some friendships that will last a lifetime."
Standing backstage as the crowd settled into the Tivoli Theatre, it was easy to see how close the dancers had become. Most stood together, but some broke off for a last-minute practice. All of them were cracking jokes and flashing nervous smiles just before the curtain was raised to reveal a packed house with hundreds of friends, family and community members.
"That's why we're cracking these horrible jokes," said Rhonda Catanzaro, who danced a medley in a sequined dress and headband, "To keep from thinking about what we're going to do."
As the show went on, the nerves proved unnecessary. Although guest star Maksim Chmerkovskiy of television's "Dancing with the Stars" fame was unable to make an appearance because of travel problems and illness, the crowd was quick to clap along to the music and cheer as dancers pulled off particularly difficult moves.
"I like Chattanooga trying to create more events and get people involved in the community," spectator Ashley Barnett said. "It's fun. It's something to dress up for."
Her husband, Adam Barnett, said he's recently seen a strong uptick in such events in his 35 years living in the city.
"Since they've redone the downtown, stuff like this has really started cropping up," he said. "Culturally, it's a positive change."